Given
69%
while driving a
Honda Civic Type R
(225/45 R17) on
a combination of roads
for 3,000
spirited miles
I have these tires fitted to my 2008 Civic Type-R in 225/40R18 92Y and have found them to be a little disappointing if I'm honest. Having come from the AS2 and AS3 I had high hopes, as they were great all-rounders. But these didn't impress long term.
Initial impression were good. There was an increase is road noise which was expected, but that came with an increase in feel, especially when pushed. But these tires need to be warm to perform. From cold the dry grip is good, but not great. They're fine at 'nippy' speeds but quickly give up past that until warm, understeering and oversteering before you might expect. But once warm they're a real pleasure, very preditcable and consistant, great turn-in and excellent on the limit. Really confidence inspiring.
In the wet they're good, but but no better than the AS3, especially at lower speeds. Over 40-50mph the same predictability comes through, good feel, good turn-in, but they didn't really impress in outright wet grip as the tests suggest. Also they are particularly poor on greasy roads, with far more understeer than the AS3 in the same conditions. They're difinitely a summer tire.
But my main issue is the wear rate. I know these are sporty summer tires but my word they're wearing fast. I'll be lucky to get 5k miles including rotating them. They're also getting louder and it's kinda distracting now. Considering the mixed performance, the price and the wear rate, I can't recommend these tires. I wish I'd tried the AS5 or Pilot Sport 4 instead.